I'm so glad I found this site. I'm hoping there are other people who may be going thru the same thing I am right now. My baby has dysplasia and his is getting worse quicker than his vets predicted. He's not quite 3 yet.

I have him on a very limited diet to control his weight (he's a big boy at 93 pounds) and he also is supplemented with glucosamine and chondrontin every night. There is not an ounce of fat on him and besides his hips, he's in great shape according to his vet.

During our last appt his vet recommended something that I had never heard of...elk velvet powder. I have read quite a bit regarding the benefits of this product but I'm wondering if anybody else has ever heard of this or even tried it? Any advice will be appreciated!

Thanks so much and I can't wait to hear from anyone who has opinions or other suggestion

I had a lab with dysplasia. She slept in my water bed every night until eventually the water bed got old and had to go. When i purchased a regular bed i noticed that she was always so stiff, i couldn't understand it. In our case the heat from the water bed helped her tremendously, and i felt terrible when I realized the cause of her stress.

I'm sure medicine has come a long way from 9 years ago, but at the time, the medication would help her hips but hurt her kidneys and liver. We gave her a little baby asprin on the days she was especially sore.

Never heard of the elk velvet powder but would be interested to learn about it.

One of my dogs has bad hip dysplasia. She just turned 7 but has been walking weird and having issues since she was 2-3yrs of age. She has almost been on adequan for 2 years and I highly recommend it. I did not do the loading dose - just started giving her one injection a month, I give it sub-q instead of IM and it works just fine. A specialist actually told me I could give it sub-q. After the 2nd injection I saw a difference and now I can tell when she is due for another one because she gets sore, it lasts about 25-30 days depending on her activity level.

Here is a link to the website his vet recommended if you would like to read some information. I am looking into purchasing the larger pot of powder as it will last about 3 months due to the dosage he will require each day!

I'm not sure about elk powder, but if you want something holistic I suggest bee pollen. My mom has rhumatoid arthritis and she was doing research on adding holistic remedies to her treatment. The Arthritis Foundation has bee pollen on their list, so she tried it. It's worked miracles for her. After seeing how much it helped her, I looked into giving it to my oldest dog. I am trying to put off NSAIDs as long as possible, and this was my last shot at holistic before moving on to them. Within one week of starting it (in addition to her mobility supplement) she went from barely being able to go up 3 steps, to running around the yard like she is 6 years younger. She is feeling well enough I can put off meds for a bit longer. It's also helped my Chi with the stiffness from her luxating patellas. It's cheap too. I get it at the local farmers market, and it's $15 for a 6 month supply for all 3 of my dogs. You can find it online too through Dr. Harvey's ($15 for 1# though I'm sure that would last less than 6 mths). It's not ment to replace meds that are working, it just adds to them.

Mooresmajestic wrote:I'm not sure about elk powder, but if you want something holistic I suggest bee pollen. My mom has rhumatoid arthritis and she was doing research on adding holistic remedies to her treatment. The Arthritis Foundation has bee pollen on their list, so she tried it. It's worked miracles for her. After seeing how much it helped her, I looked into giving it to my oldest dog. I am trying to put off NSAIDs as long as possible, and this was my last shot at holistic before moving on to them. Within one week of starting it (in addition to her mobility supplement) she went from barely being able to go up 3 steps, to running around the yard like she is 6 years younger. She is feeling well enough I can put off meds for a bit longer. It's also helped my Chi with the stiffness from her luxating patellas. It's cheap too. I get it at the local farmers market, and it's $15 for a 6 month supply for all 3 of my dogs. You can find it online too through Dr. Harvey's ($15 for 1# though I'm sure that would last less than 6 mths). It's not ment to replace meds that are working, it just adds to them.

Adequin also rocks. It's worth the cost if the dog really needs it.

Oooo I am going to look into this as well, I want to hold off on NSAIDs as long as possible too.

Just to add, I started my horse on adequan - no loading dose, just gave her a shot last month and this month, I already see an improvement in her movement. I just can't say enough good things about it.

Adequan worked wonders for my jack russell. He was diagnosed at about one year - he was in a great deal of pain, given bi-weekly injections for 4 weeks - a bit expensive for us at the time, but well worth it. He lived for 14 years without any further problems.

I am owned by a German Shepherd at the age of four years old had to have hip replacement surgery. He is six years old now. We have tried everything you can think of to help him. We even gave him the velvet powder, but it did not help him. We have him on cosequin hip and joint support plus now and it seems to be working for him.

I know this is a bit of a older thread, But thought I Would bump it up as Jade was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia back in April. And she went back to vet last week because she was in Such AWEFUL Pain! She would scream at the slight touch in her hips. So, in the 5 mo since diagnosed she has gotten dramatically worse. She was on Rymidel and tramedol as needed. But as time has progressed, she went on Rymidal daily, and on super painful days I was to add in tramedol. But she also did Cold laser therapy. Which Sorta helped, But not enough for the price it was per visit. :-/ She was also on the glucosomen and chondrotin stuff daily. But, Now they have added in A TON More fish oil (Because of the omega 3 acids) And a new pain med. So far it is doing the trick, But she is on "Couch rest" For 2 weeks *Sigh*

I Like some of the suggestions in this thread, So I am gonna look em up! She just hit 8yrs old, and has been a therapy dog, and my personal service dog for years! Now, I have to retire her.. And that stinks as I am not ready to retire her. But I can't see her in the pain she is in. She had xrays in april (Which I have on disk) And I got to see the ones they took of her last week and the change is crazy! Because of the HD, she has extreme arthritis in her hips now too!

So, Please keep suggestions going in this thread so I can see if I can find other ideas.

She has been also taking the bee pollen in addition to the Mobility for about a month now, and the difference is amazing! It seems like she has reversed age 5 years. She has no problem with stairs anymore, and has actually been playing again.

My mom, whom has RA, has been taking it for about 2 months now. She has been able to almost completely stop her pain meds! She went from having to use a cane to walk around the house and a scooter to walk the dogs, to being able to start back in agility classes with her dogs.

She has been also taking the bee pollen in addition to the Mobility for about a month now, and the difference is amazing! It seems like she has reversed age 5 years. She has no problem with stairs anymore, and has actually been playing again.

My mom, whom has RA, has been taking it for about 2 months now. She has been able to almost completely stop her pain meds! She went from having to use a cane to walk around the house and a scooter to walk the dogs, to being able to start back in agility classes with her dogs.

Wow, do you have a link for the Bee Pollen? I have never heard of that! Jade seems to be doing OK With the meds, But I'd rather her not on Nsaids if I Dont have to! She LOVED To go "Work" with me. And I Hate not being able to take her. I get the keys out to leave and she gets SO happy thinking she is going with me. And I can't take her.